Vascular Care for the Underserved Project Grants

Sponsored by SVS Foundation

The submission period has now closed.

The SVS Foundation Vascular Care for the Underserved (VC4U) Project Grants support initiatives designed to explore solutions to the significant disparities in vascular surgery care delivery across the United States.

A $20,000 grant will be awarded to a Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) or Society for Vascular Nursing (SVN) member for an innovative, community-based initiative that addresses the challenges faced by underserved populations affected by Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), with an emphasis on improving diagnosis, treatment, and patient education.

Priority is given to PAD-related projects that provide outreach, screening, or other resources to patients impacted by lack of access, inadequate resources, or distance from modern healthcare facilities. Successful projects will combine strengthening local resources for patient care with expert referral networks for patients in need of advanced or immediate treatment. 

Ideal proposals will describe a multidisciplinary approach to address some or all of the following goals:

  • Define the underserved community your project is targeted to benefit
  • Define the degree of disparity in that community with respect to vascular health care access and delivery and disease outcomes
  • Identify and assist local providers and other service organizations with addressing significant gaps in knowledge, clinical examination methods, point of care diagnostics, and other determinants of vascular health and disease
  • Identify and empower patients with improved knowledge about risk factors and early signs of vascular disease and the available vascular care resources in their community
  • Develop solutions to address the barriers to vascular health care that are actionable, scalable, and sustainable

Funding

$20,000 will be awarded for direct costs for a one-year project period. The grant does not support office construction or clinic enhancement projects, practice marketing initiatives, salary or honoraria, overhead expenses, or major capital budget items. The SVS Foundation does not support indirect costs.

Eligibility

The Applicant must be an SVS Active Member, SVS Early Active Member or an SVN Active member. Vascular trainees, fellows, residents and medical students are not eligible.

The SVS Foundation is invested in a process that assures diversity, equity, and inclusion for our award and scholarship opportunities. We encourage eligible applicants from all aspects of gender, sexual orientation, and ethnicity to apply.

Application Process

The submission period has now closed. Decisions regarding the grant will be sent to applicants in late March. The SVS Research Council will review applications.

An application must be completed and the following materials in PDF format must be uploaded via the online application submission site. Applications may be rejected if formatting requirements are not followed, or the application is incomplete.

  1. Applicant information:
    • Applicant name and contact information
    • Institution
    • Project title
  2. Curriculum Vitae or NIH biosketch
     
  3. Applicant Statement, Project Proposal and Budget - Not to exceed 8 pages total
    • 1 page - Statement outlining applicant's practice setting and relationship to the community being studied, including delineation of prior experience with community-based projects.
    • 3-5 pages - Project Proposal including:
      • Problem being addressed/community to be served/specific aims
      • Statement of innovation and impact
      • Project timeline
      • Resources needed
      • Available expertise and resources
      • Connection with community healthcare providers
      • Methods to measure project success and attainment of stated goals
      • Future plans/sustainability
    • 1-2 pages - Budget and budget justification
      • Itemized expenses
      • Budget justification
      • List of any other funds already secured or applied for
  4. Additional documents
    • Any letter(s) of support from institutional leadership, collaborators, and community partners 

Reporting Requirements

At project completion, the awardee must submit a report to the SVS Foundation detailing outcomes, including relevant results, stories, photos, and materials that highlight the project's impact.

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